11 May 2018 / leggypeggy

Cannery Row and more food

Cannery Row, John Steinbeck, Monterey, Mountain View, San Francisco

The Cannery Row Monument was dedicated in 2014. Sculptures by Steven Whyte

Our tour of national parks doesn’t start until tomorrow, but that hasn’t kept us from sightseeing in northern California. We’ve had the good fortune to stay with our friends, Nona and Brad, in Mountain View, south of San Francisco.

They love their slice of California and were keen to show us a couple of special spots we didn’t see the last time we visited them in 2009. Top of the list was Cannery Row in Monterey, almost 90 miles farther south. Another must-see was a roadside market that carries great artichokes when they are in season (like now).

California roadside market

Nona and I are both food nuts—we met many years ago through a cookery website—so it’s not surprising that our two stops would be food related.

The market was first. I was delighted to see the wonderful range of produce—including the humorously named Shit items—and was especially impressed by the low prices.

Australians, are you ready for this? Two bags of carrots for $1, 10 artichokes for $1, three bunches of cilantro (coriander) for $1 and most chillies for $1.49 a pound. That makes the chillies just over $3 a kilo, which is incredible compared to the $18–$20 we sometimes pay in Australia. Strawberries were cheap and huge—two together were about the size of my fist.

We showed a little restraint and bought artichokes, strawberries and asparagus.

Cannery Row, Monterey California

Then it was off to Monterey and the Cannery Row made famous in John Steinbeck’s classic novel, published in 1945.

It’s been years since I read the book. It’s set in Monterey during the Great Depression, on a street lined with sardine canneries. The story revolves around the people living there: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist; and Mack, the leader of a group of derelicts. Steinbeck revisited the characters and location in 1954 in his novel, Sweet Thursday.

Cannery Row was originally called Ocean View Avenue, but was later renamed in honour of the book.

Steinbeck (and a seagull) at the top of the monument

Ed Ricketts near the base of the monument

The Cannery Row monument
A large sculpture sits in a small park by the sea and commemorates Steinbeck and some of the people important to the history of Cannery Row.

Steinbeck sits at the top (sometimes with a seagull on his head). At the base is his good friend, Ed Ricketts, a father of marine biology who studied tide pools and sea life in Monterey Bay. Other figures represent Chinese fishermen, two ‘madams’ of the day and a group of entrepreneurs who helped to create Cannery Row as a tourist destination.

Steven Whyte made the sculptures. Closer views of Steinbeck (right) and Ricketts are below.

P.S. Along with some pizzas, we demolished the artichokes, asparagus and strawberries for dinner.

Monterey Canning Company